“I am here to stop your heart, do you understand?!” Mark Rothko thunders. “To make you think. I am not here to paint pretty pictures.” Goodman Theatre’s season opener, “Red,” a Tony Award winner by playwright John Logan, is full of these great, dramatic lines that cut to the heart of why an artist creates. […]
Emotions run high this fall in Chicago area plays. An artist’s struggle, a playwright’s confusion, real estate woes, nostalgic clothing and a greedy pet all take center stage—you won’t want to miss these shows! Broadway in Chicago’s “Love, Loss & What I Wore” at Broadway Playhouse September 13-October 23 Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut […]
The shows at Chicago theaters this month will either leave you sore from laughing or humming a clever tune—whether it’s puppets, cupcakes, Sondheim, the misunderstandings of a foreign language, or the ruminations of an overweight comedian. Jeff Garlin’s “No Sugar Tonight” at Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theatre July 13-24 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago 312-335-1650 steppenwolf.org As […]
Matthew Morrison, who stars on the hit Fox TV show “Glee” as teacher Will Shuester, spoke with Make It Better before his Goodman Theatre gala performance. “The last three years of my life have been very gleeful,” he said, introducing his performance, “but I’ve missed performing in theaters like this one.” That’s because the Emmy […]
When former lovers get cast as romantic leads in a 1930s melodrama, the line blurs between fake lip-locking on stage and real smooching. “Stage Kiss” is the latest collaboration by director Jessica Thebus and playwright Sarah Ruhl; most recently, Thebus directed Ruhl’s stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando” at the Court Theatre. But “Orlando” and […]
Wilmette native Sarah Ruhl is one of the most accomplished and acclaimed playwrights in contemporary theater. Beginning April 30, Goodman Theatre presents the world premiere of Ruhl’s “Stage Kiss,” which it commissioned, while her adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s classic “Orlando” closes this weekend at Court Theatre. Known for her quirky plays that tackle everything from […]
Subscription packages to local theaters and music venues are a great deal The best gifts are the ones that keep on giving. For Evanston residents and newlyweds Marc and Emily Zarefsky, it was season tickets to the Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire. Gifted to the couple by Marc’s parents, who themselves have been season ticket holders […]
“The Trinity River Plays,” which premiered Jan. 24, is a beautifully realized play about family betrayal and family love—about the roots and wrongs that hold people together or wrest them apart. Three related dramas by Regina Taylor introduce us to Iris on her 17th birthday. The occasion coincides with the arrival of the 17-year locust, […]
Mary Zimmerman’s imagining of Voltaire’s “Candide,” with the score of Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway musical, opened at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago Sunday evening. It is a very fine show with a strong cast, plenty of laughs and, of course, superb songs. The first question about “Candide”—often done as an opera and rightly so—is who will […]
“Voltaire is a relatively recent writer for me to adapt,” says Tony Award-winning Director Mary Zimmerman. She was having lunch on the tiny outdoor balcony on the fourth floor of the Goodman Theatre during a rehearsal break for Goodman’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway musical “Candide,” based on the novella by Voltaire. The show […]
